​Creative music project brings care experienced young people together

This summer saw five care Barnet care leavers come together to create, produce and perform their own music as part of our Sound Lives music project. The pilot was delivered by our partners Art Against Knives at the Lab, East Finchley over the course of five days.

 

The project included learning how to write lyrics and making beats using music software, as well as singing and rapping in a studio and learning how to market themselves as artists. Feedback was resoundingly positive, with 100% of the participants saying they would recommend it to a friend and they all have plans to come back to the Lab to learn more and stay in touch with each other. You can listen to a mixtape of the tracks here: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ari

 

Ari described the music project as an “awakening, experimental and liberating” experience. His favourite part of Sound Lives was meeting new people and connecting with them. He felt very welcome at the Lab, saying “I’ve been searching for so long for a space where I can walk in and feel relaxed and welcome with open arms, where there is no agenda. This is who you are and come as you are. I feel like this is a safe space.”

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Free Eagle

 

Free Eagle described Sound Lives as “motivational, ambitious, encouraging.” His highlights were recording his voice and learning about the music industry. He learned how to write and use music software. He said: “My favourite part was recording my voice. I’ve never done this in my life and it allowed me to discover how the music industry works. I learned if I want to do something with practice everything comes easy. I love to listen to music so much and I have learned there is a lot of work that needs to be done to create art. This a place where I feel safe and I believe I can learn something from here.” Free Eagle’s song is about his country and fighting for its rights and he is inspired by Palestinian recording artists.

 

Baby Cakes

 

Baby Cakes described Sound Lives as “moreish, developmental and exciting.” Her favourite part was learning about branding and music marketing. She learnt that she really enjoys making music and singing and she worked on writing lyrics and learning how to create beats using music software.

 

SK

 

SK described his experience at Sound Lives as therapeutic. He is passionate about music and he freestyles raps. SK created an album cover using Canva. 

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Maisie

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Maisie began the week unsure if she could sing. On hearing her voice the team at the Lab were very impressed and her confidence grew throughout the week. Maisie said that the project was “a new experience, fun and eye opening” and she realised that she really enjoyed music and singing. Her favourite part was recording the song in the studio where she covered Brandy’s “I wanna be down.”

 

Thank you to our partners Art Against Knives. You can find out more about Art Against Knives and the Lab here: THE LAB — ART AGAINST KNIVES.